What is IFCs position on using palm oil to produce biofuel?
IFC recognizes that biofuel production is a contentious issue.. In the past, IFC has supported ethanol projects from sugar cane in low production cost countries (Brazil, Central America, India) that don’t compete with food production. As with all other projects, biofuel projects must be consistent with IFC’s Environmental and Social Performance Standards and must be economically viable without subsidies, tax rebates or mandated blending. To date, most palm oil has been used for edible oil and other chemical products, with relatively little being used for biodiesel production.
